Control apparatus



June 2l, 1949. H. F. BARSUN 2,473,845

CONTROL APPARATUS Filed July 20, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ffy.; 2

WITNESSES: INVENTOR Herman/F'arsa/z ATTORNEY June 21, 1949. H. F. BARsuNCONTROL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20, 1945 INVENTOR Herma/73a/1mm BY M f.

ATTORNEY WITNESSES: 65M

Patented J une 21,

2,473,845 CONTROL.A1PAIti\1lli5E Herman .F.Barsunl Sharon, PaaassignontoWestf.

ingh'ouse El'e'ctric Corporationnllasis Pittsburgh.

Pat, acorporatio'no Pennsylvania I Application July. 20e-1945,Seriali-No.' 608,1205

6 Claims.'4 (Cl. '14e-540)?- This invention relates .toelectrical;circuitconf'. trolling switch devices,

mechanism associated'.

and,A particularly, to safetii.. ti'ierewith` .to preventunf.

authorized or unintended operaonoi the switch device.

In many types of. apparatus .where it. is,neces. sary to operate.internal .equipment from an opere ating handle on .the .outsi necessaryto locate and de of the4 ease. it is .often is the load center power.transformer where an" externally operated handlelis used vto control a.

disconnect switch'inside For this application',

practice to use a spring the case.. it has. been conventionalf biasedl"stop 'pin v:which l5 gives positive engagementiwithtwo or three holesin a stop plate,- depending upon the number pf positions in which 1t `isdesired to ioclC'the switch device. At presentato sure "until operatesuch'a switch it is'y necessary to pull the pin against the-springpres-20 it is disengaged"fr`om-the mole; and

then while still holding thapininfthefree posi tion, to operate the-switch bynthe handid Asthis procedure is'awkwardfand oftenfdiiiieultfamechanism in `accordance fw'ith the :present in 26 vention is providedwhich'willl-be sin-improvement" from the operating standpoint andwhich-stili retains the positive stopping feature Iwhen' opent theswitch operative positionsis reached."

One objectv of the inven cealed switch device therefor. having apluralits'oiinperve positibns t and provided with novei means ri onautomatically i and positively locatingzan operativepositionzxofx.

the switch:` device and holding 1 erative positions. "which: and simplein zconstnlcti A- more specic nobject.l provide a switch device posparatus housing with an of the housing and in:

operative :handle outside which locking .means :is i

provided within the'housingxrfor locl-xingfizheder` vice in any one ofa-plu tions, the locking means rality f of operative posi-l manuallyoperable `xneans .extendingqoutside the unlocking position one of itsoperative positions; Meanssalsopro vided for automaticallyreleasing:the1ockingv50 means during movement of-the switohdevice from one switchoperativelpos it wilLagain the switch device :unoni r tive position.

ition .tofanother- .so :that

be in a zposition to llocate --and' look tionis to provide'acon-i 30 andlatching #mechanisme theoperatingA 35 itionedfwithineansape' 49 beingprovidedy l with 45 f to be operateditcny .one

Othenpbleets and. advantages-of the invention: will be apparent from thefollowing description: of afpreferred embodiment of theinventiomreference-beng :had-'to the Vaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1;is a fragmentary elevationalaview-.of an electrical apparatus4including a switch Vdevice andrlocking mechansmthcrefor..organizedinfaofz. cordance with.- fthe 1invention with certain parts behind. thelhousing @wall f shown: in dotted i lines.

Fig. 2 tis ta "view dn sectional. elevationV showing the Llatehingmechenismof;Fig.-.1 with the llocking pin .infits 's'witloh lockingposition.

Figlia isa view. similarrtoFigm withv the locking pinlatcheddndts.switchzoperating position.

Fig. 4 is asectional view'of the camtaken along the .line lV-IV on Fig.12.1

Figirafisa 4view similar. to:Fig.-.2 witnthe latch` ing .piniV in itsreleased orV locating position.

Figf is ranend' viewfoiA theiocking -pinshown in Figs. 1,3 .and 4f.

Figs. 'zisia view inA sectional elevation-showing anothenmodificationion the invention with. -the locking pin, in zits locating position.

Fig. 8 is a view-dnrsectional-,elevationsimilar to Fig!! *wili'thelatchapin ,inritsz released oriocating position:-`

Fig.V 9 .laas/levain sect'lanat elevation similar-.to Figc?'with'rthe-labch pin.in its .released or locking positionp and Figr'iisfa-.sectionaiaviewtaken along theiine X-Xbi Figz'gs Referring to Figiof thedrawing, a portion of one i Walle! .Loma housing .is `.illustratedwhich is preferably formed .1, of.: sheetv steel." Within. Vthehousingthere is mounted a pair of stationary com tactftonguesfa 4`anzid;each mountedon separate insulators .and 6,. supported withinthe `housingon transversely extending spaced; channelesupf ports-4 1 fand-` E.; Abracket` 'stop-pin :supporting member #I I as mest'. shownin Figs. 2 and3, is attached'toartransversely vextending channel support .5:by-.suitable meansfsuch as by welding, or by means iof screws;Said'member II Amay simi-f larly'besattached tothesaid wall 2 of thenous. ing to assure-keeping said .wall 2 and said member II inclosercontact. The .bracket member .is -provldedwith ,twmdownwardlyextending portions I 2 andr- I l *which are biiurcated toA accommodate ashaft FI 5 textendingihrough; .an= opening vin the housings/aim andcarryinganoperating handle IB onthefouter;end-thereof., A switch bladeJlis providedaon the .inner end-ofthe shaft i5 and in: sulatedthereirompthe switch blade being adapted of,.thr.ee `switch opera-4 tivepositions. In Fig. 1, the blade I1 is shown in its middle operativeposition, out of contact with both contact tongues 3 and 4 and isadapted to be operated to engage either the contact tongue 3 or thecontact tongue 4. The switch blade I'| may be of a type having spacedsides secured against relative movement at their outer ends by a bolt I8so that when the blade is pivotally moved about the axis of the shaftI5, the bolt i8 will engage the slot I9 in one of the contact tongues 3or 4. The particular structure of the switch contact elements forms nopart of the present invention and, therefore, need not be furtherdescribed.

A cam 2| having hubs 22 is attached by any suitable means, such as pins23, to rotate with the shaft I5. The cam 2|, as best shown in Figs. l or4, is provided with three slots 24, 25 and 26, corresponding to thethree switch operative positions existing in the illustrated embodimentof the invention. Adjacent the slots, relatively low flat surfaces 21are provided with higher surfaces 26 therebetween.

A locking member 3|, shown as a stop-pin or latch pin, is providedextending through openings ln the ieg members I2 and I3 of the bracketII. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the inner end 32 of the stop-pin 3|is smaller than the outer end and extends through an opening 33 ofsuitable size in the leg I2 of the bracket II. A spring member 34 isshown about the smaller end of the stop-pin 3l positioned between theleg l2 of the bracket and an abutment 35 of the stoppin for forcing thepin toward the right as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3. A spring 36 isillustrated mounted on the upper portion of the bracket for engaging thepin 3|, biasing it downwardly. In the position illustrated in Figs. land 2, a portion of the pin 3| is engaged within the middle notch 25 ofthe cam 2|, and the stop-pin 3| is biased toward the right by the spring34 until a surface 31 engages the inner surface of the cam 2|. In thisposition of the stop-pin 3|. the shaft I5, carrying the cam 2| and theswitch blade I1. cannot be moved from the operative position in whichthe switch device is positioned.

Two notches 33 and 33, are shown in the under side of the stop-pin 3|.An operating knob 4| is provided on the outer end of the stop-pin 3| anda hole 42 is provided through the body of the stop-pin adjacent theouter surface of the wail 2 when the stop pin is in its locking positionshown in Fig. 2. The hole 42 is to accommodate a padlock or othersuitable locking means to prevent inward movement of the stop-pin 3|necessary to place the mechanism in an unlocked or switch operatingposition when it is desired to effect operation of the switch. When nosuch locking means is inserted through the hole 42, the knob 4I may bepushed inwardly manually compressing the spring 34 as shown in Fig. 3.The spring 36 will bias the locking pin 3| downwardly to the positionshown in Fig. 3 so that the notch 39 engages the lower edge of theopening through the bracket latching the pin 3| in this position. Itwill be noted, by reference to Fig. 3, that in this position of thestop-pin 3|, the notch 38 registers with the cam 2|, thus allowing it tomove freely if actuated by the handle I5. This is the switch operatingposition of the stoppin 3|. When the handle |B, together with the shaft|5, switch blade il and cam 2| are moved to the next adjacent switchoperative position, the surface 2B of the cam 2| will engage the upperedge of the notch 38 raising it from its latched Position and allowingit to assume the"pc "s`ition 4 shown in Fig. 5 in which the lowersurface 43 is shown as having entered a certain distance within theopening 44 in the leg I3 of the bracket i This position of the stop-pin3| is termed the locating position, because the pin is in a position tolocate and lock the mechanism when it reaches the next switch operativeposition. In the position of the pin 3|, illustrated in Fig. 5, thespring 34 biases the pin 3| toward the right until the surface 35adjacent the notch 33 rides on one side of the cam 2| until one of thenotches 24, 25 or 26 in the cam comes adjacent this surface at whichtime the pin 3| will be forced by the spring 34 to the locking positionshown in Fig. 2.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 is generallysimilar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 5, with the exception that only twonotches 48 and 49, corresponding to the notches 38 and 35 of Figs. 2, 3and 5, are provided, the surfaces 45 and 31 shown on the stop-pin 3| inFigs. 1 to 5 being omitted in the stop-pin 5I shownin Figs. 7, 8, 9 and10. A further difference consists of the manner in which the stoppin 5|is biased to its several illustrated positions. In Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10,a pin 52 extends downwardly from the upper part of the bracket I I,accommodating a single spring 53 having one end 54 adapted to extendalong the surface of the bracket I I and the other end 55 adapted toengage an opening 56 in the pin 5|. This spring is so arranged as toperform the duties resulting from both the spring 34 and the spring 36in Figs. 1 to 5. That is, the outer end 55 of the spring 53 is biasedboth downwardly to cause the stop-pin 5I to latch in a switch operatingposition shown in Fig. 8 when the notch 49 is in latching position andalso the end of the spring 55 is biased in a direction to urge thestop-pin 5I outwardly as viewed in Figs. '7, 8 and 9, so that after thestop-pin 5| has been raised from its latched position, as shown in Fig.8, it will be biased to the position shown in Fig. 9 with the surface 5iforming one side of the notch 48 will ride along the inner surface ofthe cam 2| until the device reaches its next switch operative position,in which position the spring 53 will cause the pin 5| to be movedoutwardly to the position shown in Fig. 7, the body of the pin engagingwithin one of the notches 24, 25 or 26 corresponding to the switchoperative position.

It will be noted that in both illustrated embodiments of the invention,the latching mechanisrn is so arranged that it is concealed entirelywithin the switch housing except for the end of the stop-pin carryingthe operating knob which projects through the side of the housing. Thestop-pin or locking member 3| or 5| is easily operated by the knob 4| byone hand and latched in the switch operating position. Both hands arethen free, if desired, for operating the switch handle I6 to operate theswitch device to its next operative position. If the switch operatinglever I5 is so operated, the cam 2| unlatches the stoppin allowing it toassume the locating position to stop the switch at the next switchoperative position. The switch device remains in this locking positionuntil the stop-pin or locking member is manually reset to the switchoperating position.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications maybe made in the details of the structure illustrated and describedwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not wish tobe otherwise limited than by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim asmyinventio'cv:4 i

1.'J Irl` 1a cincnitsccntroiliiig devic'en a manually operablefswitchactuating member-having qa. #plu-- ralitys ofi" switch operative 1memberm operative 4'uponf movement for: the :switch actuating fmember tovany one of `said plurality oi-^- positions for locking i said' switch'ractuatingA memv ber in saidfswitchfoperative rposition, saidfiociiing:member-being manually-'operableftosaswitch op-` eratiiig position-'topermit *operation of the switch member,` means automatically operable'-f or =latch` ing saidflocking meinbe'r 'in' its switch operatingposition? andicam' means vactuated move ment of said switch :actuatingmember from@ one f switch operative position to another-"-andvopera tivetoorelease sairlfA locking member from its switch operating position toa released position to adapt it to lock`the -switch'actuating memberuponmiovement thereof toV one .of saidswitch: 0perative positions.

2. Switch operating mechanism comprising a housing, a switch operatingshaft extending throughv an opening in a Wall of the housing andhavhigrazipiura-lityof switch operative positions;l a switzhtactuatingmember attached to saicishait andwositloned-outside of said housing foroper-v ating said shaft to any selected one of said plu rality of switchoperative positions, a cam within the housing operatively connected tosaid shaft and having a plurality of notches corresponding to the numberof switch operative positions, a stop-pin within the housing andoperative to engage within a notch in said cam upon movement of theswitch to any one of said plurality of switch operative positions forlocking said shaft in said switch operative position, means within thecasing for supporting said stop-pin, and means for biasing said stop-pinto a switch locking position, said stop-pin extending through an openingin said housing and having means exterior of the housing for manuallymoving said stop-pin from its switch locking position to its switchoperating position when the shaft is in a switch operative position,latch means for retaining said stoppin in its switch operating positionand means for biasing said stop-pin to latch the stop-pin in its switchoperating position, said cam being operative upon movement of the shaftfrom one switch operative position to another switch operative positionto unlatch said stop-pin from its switch operating position, and biasingmeans effective upon the unlatching of the stop-pin from its switchoperating position for returning it to a locating position in whichposition it will be ef- Iective to engage a notch in said cam and lockthe shaft in the next one of its operative positions to which it 1smoved.

3. Switch operating mechanism including a housing, a switch operatingshaft extending through an opening in a wall oi the housing and having aplurality of switch operative positions, a switch actuating memberattached to said shaft and positioned outside of said housing foroperating said shaft to any selected one of said plu rality of switchoperative positions, a cam within the casing operatively connected tosaid shaft and having a plurality of notches corresponding to the numberof switch operative positions, a supporting frame within the housinghaving a pair of leg members on opposite sides of the cam. a stop-pinextending through openings in the pair of legs of the supporting frameand having a portion positioned for engaging within a notch in said camupon movement of the shaft to any one of said plurality of switchoperative positions positions,= a locking# f or flockhigsaidshattinnsaidfswitch Voperative position;- bising-rmeans :for causing movementof thestopapiriftozaaswitchilockingJposition, said stop-pin beingarranged for manual operation from iintswichrlockmgpositionto apcsitionout of engagementriwith the cam-fonpermitting operationfotheshairtfronnone switch operai-ive po-A sitlonftofanothbr'latch?means forretaining said stopspinri lnzzits switch:-4 operating f positionineansfdnibiasingsaidfstoppinrto latch the stoppin imita-switch.operating position,- saidy cam being'operativceuporvmovementof -theshaft fron. onei-switchi operative epositicn: to another switchoperativoeposit'mnf toeuniatch saidl stop-pin from itsswhrhioperating!position; and biasing means efiediueeuponatheuniatching;of. .the stop-pin fromzits. switch: .oper-.ating position ifor returning it totaalocatingizpositoniniwhich 4,position it wili beeectiuectonengage 'afmctchz in said'cam and lockctheishaiirin themextonefof its switch operative'fpositions :tooyhich fit is; move d.

isA Invrasrctucuit :controlling device, a manuallyoperablcrswitchractuatingmember having a plurality.v foinswitclzu'loperating ff positions, a locking membernoperativerdipen`movement of the switch actuatingfnnemhemtc fanyione :of said -pluralityof positionserforeldckmgfwsaiduswitch. actuating member in said switchoperative position, said locking member having a pair of notches thereinand being manually operable to a switch operating position in whichposition one of said notches provides a space for movement of the cam topermit operation of the switch operating member and the other of saidnotches provides for latching the locking member in a switch operatingposition, and cam means actuated upon movement of said switch actuatingmember from one switch operative position to another and operative toengage said locking member for unlatching the locking member to permitit to move from its switch operating position to a released position toadapt it to again lock the switch actuating member upon movement thereofto one of its switch operative positions.

5. Switch operating mechanism comprising a housing, a switch operatingshaft mounted thereon and extending through an opening in a wail of thehousing and having a plurality of switch operative positions, a switchoperating handle attached to said shaft and positioned outside of saidhousing for operating said shaft to a plurality of switch operativepositions, a cam within the housing operatively connected to said shaftand having a. plurality of notches corresponding to the number of switchoperative positions, a stop-pin operative to engage within a notch insaid cam upon movement of the switch to any one of said plurality ofswitch operative positions for locking said shaft in said switchoperative position, means for supporting said stop-pin, and means forbiasing said stop-pin to a switch locking position, said stop-pin havingmeans for manually moving said stop-pin from its switch locking positionto its switch operating position when the shaft is in a switch operativeposition, latch means for rctaining said stop-pin in its switchoperative position and means for biasing said stop-pin to latch thestop-pin in its switch operative position, said cam being operative uponmovement of the shaft from one switch operative position to anotherswitch operative position to engage said stop-pin and unlatch thestop-pin from its switch operative position, and biasing means eiectiveupon the unlatching of the stop-pin from its switch operative positionfor returning it to a locating .i position in which position it will vbe'etective to engage a notch in said cam and lock -the shaft in the nextone of the switch operative positions to which it is moved.

6. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch operating shaft, aswitch operating handle attached to said shaft for operating said shaftto a plurality of switch operative positions. a cam operativelyconnected to said shaft and having a plurality of notches correspondingto the number of switch operative positions, a supporting frame having apair of leg members on opposite sides of the cam, a stop-pin extendingthrough openings in the pair of legs of the supporting frame and havinga portion positioned for engaging within a notch in said cam uponmovement of the shaft to any one of said plurality of switch operativepositions for locking said shaft in said switch operative position,biasing means for causing movement of the stop-pin to a switch lookingposition, said stop-pin being arranged for manual operati-on from itsswitch Vlocking position to a position out of engagement with the camfor permitting operation of the shaft from one switch operative positionto another, latch means for retaining said stop-pin in its switchoperative position comprising a notch in the side pin arranged forengaging the side of oneI of the openings in the pair of legs of thesupporting frame and means for biasing said stop-pin to cause the notchin the stop-pin to latch with the stop-pin in its switch operativeposition, said cam being operative upon movement of the shaft from oneswitch operative position to another switch operative position tounlatch said stop-pin from its switch operative position, and biasingmeans effective upon the unlatching of the stop-pin from its switchoperative position for returning it to a locating position in whichposition it will be eiective to engage a notch in said cam and lock theshaft in the next one of its operative positions to which it is moved.

HERMAN F. BARSUN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,803,163 Beebe Apr. 28, 19311,873,797 Turner Aug. 23, 1932 2,015,553 Exner Sept. 24, 1935

